strut bar..TRD for 180 or ebay cheapo..any diff

If it does the job for pennys less.......I say get it.
If Image matters or personal prefrence requires a logo, then get the TRD.
Both do the same IMO.

strut bar..TRD for 180 or ebay cheapo..any diff

i'm lookin for a strut bar and my friend swears on his Aerospeed and says its a big difference from stock. Is the TRD goin to be any diff or is it just another name costin more money that i don't want to spend extra if i don't have to. I've seen some on E-bay for my 01 Corolla but just want other input on this.

i wonder the same thing hmm

you wouldn't catch me dead paying 180 for a strut bar.

TRD is better cuz it is a one piece which is better when it comes to which is stiffer and gives u the best result...

I love my TRD strut bar..... it looks so nice.. and man it really did stiffen my front.. my car had so much flex that my windshiel cracked.. and it kept cracking across.. well since the TRD strut bar it stopped cracking .. so I know it worked. I have made alot of mistakes with parts.. and I have learned.. paying $ means quality... don't skimp on parts.. if you do , you might as well keep it stock.. cause cheap parts don't work right and they just end up messing up your car in the long run. so buy the good part first, or pay for the same thing twice like me .

I got a TRD strut bar on my 94 for 167 dollars. Handles like a babe.

Ebay and other cheap low cost strut bar that hav pivot point and adjustment


TRD welded one piece no flex point


this TRD one is even better

is welded btr?

Welded means no flex in the bar. And if it does it'll pop the welds out. My MR2 had a stock strut bar and my welds got weak the longer I had it. You could see the stress marks. But that may have been because I slalomed every damn thing I could in that car. :shrugs:

Cusco bars are best! but they cost a pretty penny.

I think you're better off with buying a cheap $30 strut bar and putting the money you save into a suspension piece that actually make more of a difference... anti roll bar, stiffer springs, struts...

I you have even think of paying almost $200 for a TRD strut bar, why don't you pay a bit more and get the hotchks swaybar? I can say it's at least 300% better than the strut
bar in handling.

But if you're just looking more into "show", then just get a strut bar.

agreed.

i think the solid piece over times gets flexed and the welds get weak and eventuall break. the bars with adjustable links just shift out of place. So if that ever happens, just tighten the bolts again and you're ready to go.

That's not where it would flex under cornering. It's made to swivel like that so it will conform to different types of shock towers. That joint flexes vertically, the chassis mostly flexes horizontally during cornering. Either one would work with the same results as long as the metal is rigid enough. You could bolt a 2x4 to your shock towers if you really want to save some money. It's just a bracing...

Yeah, and if you want to up your handling, a swaybar set is much more effective!

I purchased the cheap MR strut from ebay. It's nicer than the RS that was out for a bit but it doesn't compare to TRD. If you know anyone with a TRD one just feel it and then feel the cheap ebay ones...you'll see the difference. Of the EBAY ones i say MR is better just because it is more solid....the others like rs are completely hollow.

I was at DC sports a while back when they were test fitting the header (haha ya still no word from them!!) and they said that my MR one is actually decent. Wasn't as good as the ones DC makes (those mofo's are thick as hell) but still a decent one. They were impressed with it.

As folks said prior depends on what you are really looking for....springs, sway bars, all that other stuff will make a much more dramatic change than the STB.

Good luck!

dude do you think you can weld the flex point to give it more rigity?

Hotchkis sway bar

where could i get a Hotchkis sway bar and are they direct bolt on?

yes i think i have heard of such a case.

i recommend a stiff strut bar if you are going to get one.

TRD, Cusco, Hotchkis = cool

Here
the cheapest place for sway bar I can find so far
http://www.nopionline.com/nopistore...0Corolla%202001

And yes, It's direct bolt on.

Hm... that sounds pointless. I don't see how welding the pivoting bolt would increase rigidity at all.

well i figure you don't want any movement in the bar points at all so welding it can't hurt.<br />
<br />
i never said it was for increasing the rigidity. he might have done it so he didn't have to adjust the bar when taking it off and putting it back on multiple times. who knows.

Yeah that makes sense if you didnt want to re-adjust it.